Chandigarh, April 1 -- The Union government has released Rs.332.46 crore as a 15th Finance Commission grant for the 2025-26 financial year to rural local bodies in Punjab. The grant has been released for 13,231 eligible gram panchayats, 150 block panchayats, and 22 zila parishads to strengthen rural governance in the state. The second instalment of the 15th Finance Commission tied grant for the financial year was released on March 27, according to the Union ministry of panchayati raj. The tied grants can be used for basic services such as sanitation and the maintenance of open defecation-free (ODF) status, including the management and treatment of household waste, and faecal sludge management. Rural local bodies are also allowed to utilise these funds for improving the supply of drinking water, rainwater harvesting and water recycling. In February 2026, the central government had also released a basic grant (untied) of Rs.222 crore to rural local bodies in Punjab. These untied grants are utilised by panchayati raj institutions/rural local bodies for location-specific felt needs, except for salaries and other establishment costs. Besides Punjab, the panchayati raj ministry has also released similar tied and untied grants to Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Sikkim, Tripura and Odisha in the past week. The ministry recommended the disbursal of these tied and untied grants to the department of expenditure under the Union ministry of finance, which subsequently released the funds....